On December 28, the US Senate rejected an amendment introduced by Senators Mark Udall and Jon Tester to the Supplemental Appropriation for Disaster Assistance which woild have restored $653 millioin to the US Forest Service Wildland Fire Management Account. According to Senator Udall's statement today, the amendment "would have increased the budget request for the Wildland Fire Management Fund to the projected median cost of the 2013 wildfire season, $1.584 billion." He also stated, "These additional funds would have ensured that the U.S. Forest Service was prudently and appropriately prepared to help prevent and fight catastrophic wildfires next year in Colorado and across the West." For Senator Udall's full statement following the vote, go to www.markudall.senate.gov/ and click on Newsroom.